Rea: I was finding the limit…

Jonathan Rea has shrugged off a tumble off midway through FP3 as “finding the limits” of grip with his factory Kawasaki Racing Team ZX-10RR package as he swept to top spot after Friday practice at Laguna Seca.

After Rea set the early pace in FP1, the defending World Superbike champion’s 1m 23.104s produced in FP2 handed him the fastest lap over Friday practice while he also demonstrated lightning race pace during his longer runs.

The WorldSBK championship leader had looked to further extend his advantage at the top in the final session but tipped off at Turn 5 while on another quick lap. Rea walked away from the crash unhurt but confirmed his ZX-10RR will require a considerable rebuild.

The Northern Irish rider says he was searching for the limit of grip at Laguna Seca and concedes he found it the hard way.

“This is a track that has struggled with grip but it seems our base set-up is finding grip,” Rea said. “It is just a shame to go to sleep on a crash but my rhythm has been stronger than everyone today so I feel like we have some margin to just come back now and find the limit.

“I had a lot of feedback from the bike and I was finding the limit really – and I found it. I arrived a little bit faster than my fastest lap. I was in a run where I was very consistent and fast even at the end, so I was just pushing the boundaries.

“From the first session we have been fast but we have been changing the bike to make it better and better. Now our consistency and speed are good.”

Rea holds a 65-point advantage in the riders’ standings but saw his lead trimmed by Chaz Davies for Aruba.it Racing Ducati after the triple World Superbike champion crashed out of race two in Brno in a clash with teammate Tom Sykes.